


I promise

by SushiWestern



Category: Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26409736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SushiWestern/pseuds/SushiWestern
Summary: Something has been bothering Dewdrop for a while. Aether, his boyfriend and the one who knows him the most, is eager to find out what's going on.
Relationships: Aether | Quintessence Ghoul/Dewdrop Ghoul | Fire Ghoul
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26
Collections: Ghost BC Reverse Big Bang 2020





	I promise

Mischievous, smug, spontaneous, unpredictable… Those are the first impressions people got as soon as they got to meet Dewdrop. A small ghoul with fiery personality that loved to watch the world burn at his feet, a hot-headed gremlin that was prone to cause trouble for everyone that surrounded him, someone who had an endless stream of energy. Aether knew it well, and every time his fiery friend had one of his sudden outbursts, he always added that ‘he was more than that’. And the rhythm guitarist was right. They had been together since the Third Emeritus was on the lead of the Ghost project and the fire ghoul was a bassist, in fact, they had known each other since even before that. Despite the obvious rivalry they had onstage and the constant teasing on backstage, Dewdrop and Aether were, in fact, like two halves of an apple, the perfect compliment for the other and they knew it right away when the other was having trouble. 

And that was the case that morning at the beginnings of March. The whole church was getting ready for the big announcement everybody had been waiting for two years: Cardinal Copia was getting his awaited and well-deserved promotion and everybody had been busy with rehearsals and bureaucratic paperwork to the point they barely had free time, and the only times the band ghouls could have a moment for themselves was during meals in their church rec room. However, since the last ritual, everybody seemed to notice that Dewdrop had been less fiery than usual. He showed up late for rehearsals, eating less than usual and seemed unfocused and, eventually, he stopped walking out of his bedroom. The fire ghoul usually shut himself in when he got a new videogame to binge or when he was sick, but always appreciated when someone showed up just to keep him company or join the game session. This time was different.

“Trust me, I’ve never seen him like that,” Multi explained as he sat down on the table. It had been his turn to cook that day and he wanted to try creative cuisine, so everybody knew that the best course of action to take to avoid food poisoning was to start talking and pushing food around the plate. “A few days ago I asked him to pull at my finger and he told me to fuck off.”

“That’s odd, he is always in for your shenanigans” Blizzard responded, tilting her head. “Maybe he’s tired or nervous for our last Ritual? What do you think, Aether?”

The large ghoul had been quiet until now, deep in thought when his name was mentioned. “I don’t think it's the last Ritual anxiety. We were there when the Third was removed from the stage, we were the only ones who knew and he seemed fine back then.”

“Whatever it is, he can’t get sick for the big day. He would get angrier than usual and blame everyone but himself,” Water cut the guitarist mid-sentence, slightly annoyed, “Aether, you know him better than anybody else, have you tried talking it out with him?”

“I did try to wake him up a few days ago and didn’t respond and… well today, when I tried to wake him up again as always, he sent me off”.

The quintessence ghoul met with the dumbfounded looks of his bandmates. Him and Dewdrop rarely got angry at each other to the point of absolute rejection, they usually talked it out in private. It was then when Aether realized that maybe his partner was going through something worse than he could ever imagine. His heart clenched as he imagined the worst, his stomach churning with all the possible situations Dewdrop could be in. He needed to get out of there and be by the fire ghoul, he swore it the first time they saw each other and Aether never broke a single promise he made. It was like they both made a blood oath to protect each other since then. Aether got up from the table and excused himself, heading towards the stairwell leading to the bedrooms.

Dewdrop’s door was still shut as expected, giving off a ‘do not disturb’ aura. Aether hesitated a bit before slowly approaching, as if the fire ghoul would yell at him just by the sounds of his footsteps. It did not smell of sickness or heat, so the quintessence ghoul was slightly relieved. But that did not mean that the problem was solved. He took a seat on the floor and leaned his back against the door, then removed his mask to let it rest on his lap.

“Dew, it’s me again,” Aether spoke quietly, but loud enough for his boyfriend to hear, “We’re all worried about you, please, can you come out?”

“No.”

The response was dry, cutting, a thorn buried in Aether’s heart. With a sigh, he tried to reason with his friend again, “Dew, please. I know you’re going through something and that you need to talk about it. You’ll feel better, I promise.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, I can manage alone!” Dewdrop spewed from the other side of the door, “You all keep coming here and annoy the fuck out of me, just shut up and leave!”

The fire ghoul’s harsh words made Aether’s heart clench tighter and in that moment, he wished he would just barge in and hold Dewdrop close. The rhythm guitarist knew his friend had trouble while dealing with things on his own and even when he was being the most stubborn, the fire ghoul always gave up and accepted the help. When was the last time they went through such a rough patch? 

It was actually a while ago, the time Dewdrop injured himself and had to play offstage. He had been cooped up inside the tour bus avoiding everyone, so the situation became a taboo conversation topic for a while. Aether was the one who pulled at the curtains of his bunk and lied next to him, hugging him from behind mindful of the fire ghoul’s injury and not saying a single word about it. At first, Dewdrop was tense and attempted to push him away, but he eventually gave into the cuddles, the kisses and all the affection the taller ghoul was giving him, and he was soon ready to talk about it. Oh, to be able to do the same again. However, this time Dewdrop was being even more stubborn and Aether knew it would be hard to cheer him up, but not impossible. He almost considered breaking the door down when he remembered that he could hear him perfectly: if Dewdrop wanted his privacy, he’ll let him have it, but Aether was ready to bring him out no matter what happened.

“I get it if you don’t want to talk, but just let me in” the quintessence ghoul raised his gaze up, “But you don’t have to go through this alone. Remember the time when we became partners? I swore to be by your side through both good and bad times, and this looks like an awful time.” Seeing that he wasn’t receiving a response, he got up and turned the door knob only to find out that it was open since the very beginning. However, he could feel his heart shattering to pieces when he saw the sorry state Dewdrop’s room was in. The fire ghoul had attempted to unsuccessfully barricade the door, only to give up in the middle of it and, once Aether squeezed himself past a dresser, he found the floor covered in torn clothes and pieces of paper that came from a bunch of torn books. The light was off and the curtains blocked the light outside, but the large ghoul could see the silhouette of his partner lying down on the bed, facing away.

Dewdrop’s golden locks spread across the mattress like an old, abandoned broom: dirty, tangled, unkempt… whatever he was going through, it seemed to be worse than it looked like. Aether tiptoed around the shattered clutter on the floor and approached him, taking a seat on the bed and reaching an arm out to stroke Dewdrop’s cheek with a finger. It was wet; had he been crying? After all the time they spent together, Aether couldn’t recall the last time he saw his partner cry, or if he ever saw him do it. At the display of affection, the fire ghoul relaxed and gulped down, still not daring to face his boyfriend. He felt miserable, ashamed to show himself like this to someone that mattered more than his own life.

“Hey, buddy” Aether’s lips curled to a weak smile and held Dewdrop’s shoulder, encouraging him to turn around but all he could manage was the fire ghoul staring from over his shoulder, “It’s okay, I’m here for whatever you need. Remember that we can talk about everything, yes?”

“I’m sad, that’s all.”  
“No, that’s not all, we already discussed this” the rhythm guitarist sighed, “We don’t bottle up feelings, we are honest with each other. You promised.”

“I promised a lot of things that I’m not sure I can keep.”

The whole situation seemed to lead nowhere and Aether was beginning to feel frustrated. Yes, it always took a while for Dewdrop to open up but it had never been the absolute rejection and pessimism he was met with. Dewdrop, a pessimist? Since when? Even in the worst situations, he always had a reckless or surrealist idea under his sleeve, but he never lost his hope. The Dewdrop in front of him, though, the one in that very same room was one that had nothing left to live for. Aether bit down his lip and tucked his arms under the fire ghoul’s small frame, lifting him from the bed and placing him on his lap. Dewdrop closed his eyes and leaned his head against his partner’s shoulder, then wrapped the arms around his neck in a weak hug. 

“In a few days, it will all be over” the fire ghoul finally said in a thread of voice.

“What do you mean?”

“Everything we all worked for. The Rituals, the rehearsals, the luring of more devotees to the cause… The Cardinal is getting his promotion and now what? What will happen to us? We stayed after the Third got promoted, but the rest had been sent back to Hell, or fired, or whatever they did to them. I’ve never seen them again, Aeth, and I’m worried about this happening again to all of us.”

The rhythm guitarist closed his eyes and held his partner closer as he heard him spill his heart out, wondering for how long he had been holding all of this sorrow in. Dewdrop was right, they have never seen their old coworkers again but now with Copia in charge it was different. Everyone got along well, they had chemistry on and offstage and the Cardinal cherished and praised them constantly, why would he want to replace them? And then Aether realized what was going on: Dewdrop was pushing everyone away so parting ways would not be as painful, he did the same the last time, at the end of the Third’s leadership. The difference is that this time, the fire ghoul actually liked his bandmates and, above all, he loved Aether to bits.

“I don’t want to lose you” he finally confessed, burying his face on the larger ghoul’s torso, “All of those years we’ve been together mean the whole world to me, even if I don’t always show it, they do. The thought of us parting ways has been haunting me ever since we were given the news of the promotion, and I’ve been bottling everything up until I couldn’t hold it anymore.”

The rhythm guitarist ghoul was left speechless as the words sank in. All he could do was lean his head against his partner’s, minding the horns, and purr softly for comfort. It was a genuine fear, and Aether himself would be lying if he said he never thought about it.

“We will always be together, no matter what” he finally said to bring the fire ghoul’s spirits up at least just a bit, “I promise.”

“I believe you” Dewdrop tightened his grip around Aether for a few seconds and removed himself from the larger ghoul’s lap. Now that he could be seen in his full glory, the fire ghoul was in a more sorry state that Aether could have ever imagined. The worn-out sweater he was wearing was all torn and dirty, and the sweatpants were about two sizes bigger and in a similar state as the rest of the outfit and the ghoul himself. Aether chuckled and got up from the bed, taking one of the blond strands of hair between his fingers.

“I think a shower will do you good, I’ll help you clean your room.”

With a nod, Dewdrop disappeared behind the bathroom door so Aether could start the cleanup. The first thing would be opening the curtains and the windows, so the room would breathe in some fresh air and wash away the scent of sweat and spoiled food that piled up inside multiple bowls and cups. _Guess I found the missing dinnerware_ , the rhythm guitarist thought. After washing them up and picking up a broom and a dustpan, Aether returned to the room and threw away the broken cups and the torn papers and books. It wasn’t like Dewdrop owned many books, he wasn’t an avid reader but the ones he had were mostly gifts from his partner. Those could be replaceable.

Aether crouched down to examine a larger volume that was thrown across the room: it was an album with a large collection of polaroids depicting the trips they made when touring. There were a lot of pictures with them all glamoured, talking excitedly about whatever, some pictures of Copia… The large ghoul was aware of Dewdrop always carrying a polaroid-like camera and taking sneaky pics of everyone to have mementos of their tour adventures, but it broke his heart to see them all scattered around and missing their place in the album. Perhaps Dewdrop believed he could get rid of them when the Ministry decided to part ways with them and get new ghouls for the next era, if they ended up getting fired. As Aether sat on the floor and examined each picture, his shoulders sagged more and more. They all looked so happy… and all of that will disappear forever. The rhythm guitarist picked up a selfie of him and his boyfriend, their cheeks pushed together and toothy grins on their lips. In fact, there were a lot of selfies of them in that album, even pictures of him that Dewdrop took of him unnoticed while having drinks, napping, joking…

“I will miss those if they do get rid of us…” Aether told himself with a low voice, gathering all of his strength not to break down at the thought of being sent away from his beloved.

The shower felt like the first sip of a cold drink on a hot summer day. Dewdrop wasn’t a ghoul who actually enjoyed spending long periods of time under running water, but even he had to admit that it was the best choice at the moment. He had time to think about Aether’s words and convince himself that everything would be alright, that they were going nowhere if it wasn’t with each other. The fire ghoul was so lucky to have someone to watch over him like Aether did, someone who knew exactly what to say or do every time he was feeling down or needed a little push to continue living. Once he dried himself off and got dressed, he tossed the towel in the sink and returned to his bedroom, but what he saw made his heart shrink three sizes.

Aether was sitting on the bed with his gaze lost in the wall. The bedroom was tidy, the furniture had gone back to their initial place, but the quintessence ghoul’s gloomy mood felt like it brought everything back into a chaotic state. Dewdrop knelt in front of him and took his partner’s hands gently, a worried scowl on his lips.

“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked.

“I was looking at your photo album and I guess my spirits went down… I began thinking about what you said before, about us all getting fired…” Aether’s voice trailed away as he stared outside the window. The sun was setting already, his food might be cold by now, but it was like nothing mattered anymore, “I don’t know, I don’t think I could keep on living without you, Dew.”

The fire ghoul’s hands slid up Aether’s arms to his shoulders, then all the way to his cheeks to cup them with utmost care and affection. It was devastating to see how empty his brown eyes looked in that moment, it was devastating to see his partner so defeated. Dewdrop couldn’t imagine himself living without him either, so he leaned in to sit on his lap again and kiss his lips gently. They kissed and held each other close for what it seemed like an eternity, afraid that they would disappear if they let go.

“Cheer up, alright?” Dewdrop whispered once their lips parted to catch some breath, “I trust your words, you know I always do. You’re my safety net.”

“And you are mine,” Aether smiled up at him and let out a soft chuckle, “I guess the idea of separation is just messing with my brain… I think you’re capable of committing arson if they don’t allow us to leave together, if we do.”

“And not just arson!” The fire ghoul let his partner go to stand up and place his hands on the hips and puffing his chest proudly, “I’m capable of even kidnapping someone and not letting them go unless we can be together! Or… or I can kidnap you!”

Aether got up to his feet and wrapped his arms around Dewdrop’s shoulders, as if he wasn’t willing to let him go that early, “You already kidnapped my heart years ago.”

  
  
After days and days of rehearsals, nervousness and last minute stress, the day of the big announcement was coming closer. The group was ready like warriors before the final battle, the stage was almost finished and there were only sound tests and a couple of checkups left to do later that day. Everything had to be perfect, the audience needed the tension, the drama… and that was quite a lot of pressure for the ghouls. When Aether came up with the idea of having a bit of fun before the grand moment, Dewdrop chimed in right away. The idea of spending all day together seemed like a good idea to clear their minds of any possible separation anxiety and the possibility to make new memories to cling to. 

As hours passed by, they stopped caring about where they were going. All that mattered was the fact that they were together, walking hand-by-hand in full glamour, staring at the other whenever they laughed or talked about something they were interested in and seeing how fortunate they were. Eventually, Aether suggested heading back to their hotel room to get ready: the time was closing by and they needed to be ready to head to the venue. On their way back, Dewdrop noticed there was still some nervousness on his partner’s expression, so he held his hand tightly in hopes of bringing him some sort of comfort.

It had been a good idea to ask for a room for two. They had more space than the rest of their bandmates, a bigger bed, a bathtub for two with massaging jets… everything to make their experience in the city as memorable as it could be. But Dewdrop knew that Aether didn’t want any of those as he watched him sit on the bed and drop his shoulders, sulking. It was still uncertain if what they discussed of staying in the band after the last Ritual would be true, but the quintessence ghoul was the first one to believe that it would be impossible given the good work they had been doing after all of those touring years. The Cardinal had grown attached to them, and so did their bandmates. The fire ghoul took a seat next to his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around his midsection, his lips pecking Aether’s shoulder gently up to his ear hoping to at least make him smile.

“Thank you for this day, Dew” Aether whispered, pulling the fire ghoul into a loving embrace, “In fact, thank you for everything you’ve done for me for all of these years together.”

“No, it’s me who’s grateful. I must be the luckiest ghoul in the world to have you by my side and…” Dewdrop held his partner tighter, “That’s why I’m afraid of letting go. I don’t think I can go there and do my job properly thinking that after we’re done, we’ll be sent away. Or not, who knows! But the doubt is killing me from the inside, I don’t want to go anywhere without you!”

Aether let out a deep sigh and got up, pulling Dewdrop back up to his feet and holding his hands. It would be heartbreaking if they spent their final moments before the storm like this, he didn’t want to and neither did the fire ghoul. Instead, the rhythm guitarist put a hand on Dewdrop’s waist and led one of his hands to the shoulder, as if they were hugging from a distance. Then, Aether took a step to the side, the other foot following at the rhythm of an imaginary song, while Dewdrop was dragged around in confusion.

“What are we doing?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

“It’s called waltzing” the quintessence ghoul explained, “I want to make a memory I will never forget and so do you, so what if we do something we’ve never done before?”

“Didn’t we dance at some point? Some church Yule celebration?”

“You were quite cranky that night after discovering that the chocolate chips in the buffet cookies were raisins” Aether laughed and stopped for a few seconds to correct Dewdrop’s step. The fire ghoul’s cheeks were red from embarrassment, not for his attitude at the Yule party —even if it was a stupid reason to get in a bad mood during a fancy event—, but for how awkward he was dancing.

And so to save him from making a fool of himself at the most important moment of their lives, Aether took a step back and encouraged his boyfriend to place his feet on his. When he saw what was going on, Dewdrop scowled and glanced away. He was too old to dance on someone’s feet, but he too didn’t want to ruin the mood with his awful moves so he did as he was asked. Thankfully, the lead guitarist was as light as a feather and Aether had no trouble guiding him around the room, soon forgetting about how the waltz was supposed to be danced and just dancing in circles over and over again, their cheerful faces bathed by the sunset light filtering through the window. It felt ethereal, as if their feet were lifting from the floor and they were sent to someplace where they were the only two in the world. Seeing Dewdrop’s huge smile was the best medicine to wash all of Aether’s worries away, and his laugh all the music he needed at the moment.

As the fire ghoul was getting dizzy, he asked his partner to stop but at the same time, he wasn’t ready for the fun to end. Aether took Dewdrop’s waist once more and pulled him towards his body to close the gap, their arms sliding under the other’s to their backs and shifting into just slow dancing. The lead guitarist hid his face against his partner’s chest and inhaled his scent. Aether’s warmth was comforting just like a duvet and, as much as he wanted to let go, he couldn’t find the strength to. They belonged together and no one else will take that from them. And as soon as the dancing stopped, the separation thoughts flooded their minds again. Dewdrop hid his face further and grabbed a fistful of his boyfriend’s shirt, clinging to it for dear life as Aether dropped his shoulders and held him closer, the gentle sway slowly heading to a full stop.

Words weren’t needed, at this point, everything had been said and nothing seemed to work to sweep away their fears. They just stood there holding each other closely, grateful for what they had, praying for that moment to last forever even if the Ritual was starting soon. Aether was the first one to pull away and brush a couple of golden strands away from the fire ghoul’s face to take a good look into his blue eyes, hoping he could get lost in them like everytime. With his partner’s face so close, Dewdrop couldn’t wait anymore: he stood on his toes and clashed their lips together, feeling the salty taste of tears in the kiss. Aether broke the kiss briefly to wrap his arms around Dewdrop’s thighs and hoist him up and carry him, so he could be comfortable while they cuddled and kissed endlessly. If only they had all the time in the world…

Aether stood by the mirror with his mask on and fixed his tie as he remembered what happened before in the hotel room. He was so deep in his thoughts that his bandmates’ chatter while dressing up faded into white noise to the point that he barely registered Dewdrop approaching him from behind and giving his bum a good slap. He almost forgot that the fire ghoul’s attitude changed completely when the others were present.

“Ouch, what was that for!?” the rhythm guitarist asked, rubbing at his backside.

“That’s my good luck slap, you remember?” Dewdrop grinned, “You’re kinda gone, are you alright?”

“No, no, it’s just…” Aether turned around to stare into the mirror again, “I’m still in the clouds, that’s all. I had a lot of fun before and… Well, no matter what happens to us, I’m going with you. I promise.”

The lead guitarist smiled widely behind his mask and hugged his boyfriend tightly for a brief moment until Water’s voice brought them back to reality. “Going where? Are you leaving us behind?” the bassist tilted his head in confusion as he was putting on his uniform.

“Not really… we just refuse to split up if we are fired after this Ritual” Dewdrop explained, wrapping an arm around Aether’s back, “I’m not leaving without the big beef and I will throw a tantrum if necessary.”

But his cheeks went bright red while his bandmates started laughing their hearts out, even Earth, who always stayed quiet in the background and away from everyone’s shenanigans. The couple was struck with confusion and exchanged looks until the first one to stop, Multi, could speak. “You two are adorable” he said, still trying to catch his breath, “The Cardinal called us earlier in an emergency meeting to tell us we’ll be sticking with him for his leadership as Papa. We waited for you two but time was running out and we decided to tell you later, but since we couldn’t find any of you…”

Aether and Dewdrop gave their bandmates a deadpan stare. While the band was getting the good news, they were dancing together in their hotel room like if it was the end of the world. The larger ghoul couldn’t hold back and burst out in laughter as well: all of this time worried about losing each other and the rest of them already knew they were staying, but deep down, he felt relieved. He was glad that his friends would be there, but most important, he couldn’t hide how euphoric he was to spend a few more years with Dewdrop. Still, the promise stood: if the day their services were no longer needed arrived, he will fight all of the elements if necessary to let him and the fire ghoul leave together. A loud knock on the door stopped the laughter abruptly: it was Breeze, who came to tell the boys that the Cardinal was expecting them a couple of minutes ago to start the Ritual. It was their time to shine. As they walked through the hall, the echoes of the audience yelling and cheering became louder and louder behind the huge curtain. Aether could feel his heart beat faster as he grabbed his guitar, sneaking quick glances to his partner. Even if they won’t be parting ways after the Ritual, it was comforting to have him by his side. Without each other, they wouldn’t have overcome their little slope and would be probably sulking by now, thinking about the end of the show and hurtful goodbyes. Words couldn’t describe how much Aether loved his boyfriend, his mischievous, smug, spontaneous and unpredictable gremlin, who was there during good and bad times. As everyone began to get in position to start, the fire ghoul approached his partner for a quick but meaningful hug. They both needed it after all they’ve been through. All Aether could do was chuckle and tell him they will ‘meet before Cirice’, to which Dewdrop responded with a ‘you better be there.’

The first notes of Ashes began playing and so the Nameless Ghouls exchanged quick looks before looking back to the front. They were feeling confident and ready, as if they had been waiting their whole lives for that very moment. The curtain dropped at the same time Earth started his solo and the crowd erupted in euphoric laughter and cheers, unaware of what would happen in the middle of the show after Miasma ended that would change their lives forever. For the two guitarists in love, though, the news they got before the show was already life changing. Nothing in this world would separate them at least for a few years more, or for the rest of their lives. Aether and Dewdrop decided to cling to the latter, as their promise lasts for eternity.


End file.
